Head West not so young Man

[ultrarunner]

thanks JimmyJ. I'm 63 with degenerative arthritis and the time has come for me to hit the road while I still can.

I've been to Europe and England only once, and would love to go to back to Germany, and maybe even further to find the old homestead, if it still exists, but that's all pie in the sky stuff right now.

I did that a few years ago... found someone with the same last name and showed up on their doorstep...

Turns out their were two brothers born in the late 1700's... one was my ancestor and the other his.

We both thought we were the last of our line... he didn't believe I had the same last name...

It was comical standing on the doorstep of a stranger in Germany comparing our driver's licenses.

Anyway... it was great experience and with a total stranger related by blood going back a few centuries...

 

[newbury]

Kinda wonder if I should have "roo bars" put on it. That is sure no bumper on this thing.

That would be a good idea. In some states you can officially keep what you hit.

 

[aczlan]

tried to do a screen print and erased the entire thing. Not going to do that again. I don't want a Google Maps account because I know what will happen, they will sell that info and I'll be bombarded by every real estate agent and whatever along the entire path of my trip. So I couldn't save it...ok, back to Streets and Trips. I can push pin on that, save, and convert to a readable format. Well, good exercise...

Wont happen, but ok. I have setup many trips on Google maps ranging from acorss the county to across the country and have never had it used to push advertising at me.

One alternative is to get the route where you want it, then click on the "link" button. That will give you a link with all your points on it that you can save and (if you want) email to anyone.

Aaron Z

 

[daugen]

Wont happen, but ok. I have setup many trips on Google maps ranging from acorss the county to across the country and have never had it used to push advertising at me.

One alternative is to get the route where you want it, then click on the "link" button. That will give you a link with all your points on it that you can save and (if you want) email to anyone.

Aaron Z

Thanks Aaron. You can imagine the language that I used when all my "saved" points disappeared into the ether.
OK, I'll join Google, I really like their mapping and route alternatives.

 

[wngsprd]

Okay, here are the first two restaurant nominations: for the drive between Flagstaff and Albuquerque...

1. get off I-40 in Winslow (and of course drive downtown and "stand on a corner"). There is an old Santa Fe railroad station/hotel that has been renovated - La Posada...each room is different, the lobby is incredible with lots of history. Their restaurant is the Turquoise Room - one of the top 5 restaurants we've ever enjoyed.
La Posada Hotel: Arizona's grandest estate - a National Historic Landmark

2. a bit further east in Gallup, go to El Rancho Hotel...another historic stop on Route 66...where John Wayne and the cowboy stars stayed while filming. We didn't stay there, but had some of the best burritos and green chili ever in their quaint old restaurant (and home made pie).

El Rancho Hotel | Historic Hotel on Route 66

These were fun stops, even if you don't eat there, and bring back great memories of a trip back in 2009.

 

[daugen]

I did that a few years ago... found someone with the same last name and showed up on their doorstep...

Turns out their were two brothers born in the late 1700's... one was my ancestor and the other his.

We both thought we were the last of our line... he didn't believe I had the same last name...

It was comical standing on the doorstep of a stranger in Germany comparing our driver's licenses.

Anyway... it was great experience and with a total stranger related by blood going back a few centuries...

This thread is titled Head West, but I've always had a Head East dream too. To go back to the little town of Brody in what is now the Ukraine and try to find my grandfather's relatives. Sadly almost all of them were shipped to the local **** death camp and were killed in 1942. About sixteen Augenblicks from what I can figure out. Pretty grim. But I still want to go back, I'm the family historian and everything stops before my grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1901.
I even spent hours on Google Earth looking down in that area, looking for cemeteries, and found two. that's where I would head first. maybe the family was totally eradicated, I don't know. 5% of the town escaped into the woods...

on that somber note, this trip West is going to be nothing but fun, take a million pics, see a lot of tractors, and eat a lot of interesting food. I also want to visit some Quaker Meetings further West, because their service is different than the traditional "Philadelphia" Meeting. Livelier I'm told...

 

[daugen]

Wingsprd, good food ideas, thanks. I'll have to pass on the chilis, I have acid reflux so no hot stuff, but I do like Mexican/Spanish food. It needs to be cooked and not moving...
Ok, I'll go eat in the Turquoise Room and take a pic for everyone.

 

[charlz]

I even spent hours on Google Earth looking down in that area, looking for cemeteries, and found two. that's where I would head first. maybe the family was totally eradicated, I don't know. 5% of the town escaped into the woods...

I have used Find A Grave for info on US relatives grave sites and they have info from various countries... might see if they have those particular cemeteries listed.

 

[dave1949]

Local church records can be a good resource in Europe for tracking down ancestors. Births, baptisms, marriages, deaths were all church-related happenings.

Church records in Germany for the 1800's can be quite detailed, even noting that the person immigrated to the US. I don't know if many are available online. They were hand written of course. Sharon tracked down some records for an uncle doing genealogy when we lived in Germany. She ended up with 10-12 copied pages of hand written high German. We had to ask an older neighbor read them due to the old-style handwriting. They were difficult to decipher for a non-native speaker.

 

[Ken]

tried to do a screen print and erased the entire thing. Not going to do that again. I don't want a Google Maps account because I know what will happen, they will sell that info and I'll be bombarded by every real estate agent and whatever along the entire path of my trip. So I couldn't save it...ok, back to Streets and Trips. I can push pin on that, save, and convert to a readable format. Well, good exercise...

Instead of Google try Bing. I have used this for locating dairy farms through the central u.s. and never had problem. it also will suggest serve sta. of your choice or brand .restaurants or places to visit.
Been in 49 of the 50 states with camper 5 whl. and park in rv park and then travel in pick-up to see the sites. And try Canada good roads and friendly people.
Would suggest to go Southern States if travel before May. or plan on cold weather trip. And we purchase 100 bucks of fuel then quit for the day to plan the next direction. Try never to back track on the trip.


What ever planned just enjoy and take time to enjoy this great country. Most every city has a large number of friendly people and just one grouch Usually the first one you meet.
And I have learned also the first right turn in a strange town will be a dead end.
ken


ken